GIVING GOD OUR ALL!

 READINGS FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2021

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 155

It-Tnejn u Tletin Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena

 

 Reading 1           1 KINGS 17:10-16

In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, "Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink."  She left to get it, and he called out after her, "Please bring along a bit of bread."  She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die." Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid. Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son. For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'"  She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.

QARI 1            mill-Ewwel Ktieb tas-Slaten 17:10-16

F’dak iż-żmien, il-profeta Elija qam u rħielha lejn Sarefta. Kif wasal ħdejn bieb il-belt, kien hemm waħda armla tiġbor il-ħatab. Elija sejħilha u qalilha: “Jekk jogħġbok, ġibli f’bieqja belgħa ilma x’nixrob”. Hi u sejra, Elija raġa’ sejħilha u qalilha: “Ġibli wkoll, jekk jogħġbok, kisra ħobż f’idek”. Hija wieġbet: “Daqskemm hu ħaj il-Mulej, Alla tiegħek, ma għandi xejn maħbuż; qabda dqiq f’ġarra u ftit żejt fil-kus kulma baqagħli. Ara, qiegħda niġbor biċċtejn ħatab; issa nħejji xi ħaġa għalija u għal ibni; u mbagħad nikluha u mmutu”. Elija wieġeb: “La tibżax, mur u agħmel kif għedtli: imma qabel agħmel ftira żgħira għalija, u ġibhieli.  mbagħad agħmel għalik u għal ibnek. Għax din hi l-kelma tal-Mulej, Alla ta’ Iżrael: Il-ġarra tad-dqiq ma tintemm qatt, u l-kus taż-żejt ma jitbattalx, sa dakinhar li l-Mulej jibgħat ix-xita fil-pajjiż”. U dik marret u għamlet kif qalilha Elija. Damu jieklu għal żmien, hi u hu, u darha kollha. U l-ġarra tad-dqiq ma ntemmitx, u l-kus taż-żejt ma tbattalx, kif kien qal il-Mulej permezz ta’ Elija. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej. 

Responsorial Psalm           PSALM 146:7, 8-9, 9-10

The LORD keeps faith forever,
    secures justice for the oppressed,
    gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

The LORD gives sight to the blind.
    The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
    The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
    but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
    your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

SALM RESPONSORJALI             Salm 145(146):7,8-9a,9bċ-10

R/.(1): Faħħar, ruħ tiegħi, il-Mulej!

Il-Mulej jagħmel ħaqq lill-maħqurin,
u jagħti l-ħobż lill-imġewħin.
Il-Mulej jeħles lill-imjassrin. R/.

Il-Mulej jiftaħ għajnejn l-għomja;
il-Mulej jerfa’ lill-milwijin;
il-Mulej iħobb lill-ġusti;
il-Mulej iħares lill-barranin. R/.

Il-Mulej iżomm lill-iltim u lill-armla,
imma lill-ħżiena jħarbtilhom triqathom.
Il-Mulej isaltan għal dejjem;
Alla tiegħek, Sijon, minn nisel għal nisel. R/. 

Reading 2             HEBREWS 9:24-28

Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf. Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the  with blood that is not his own; if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice. Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment, so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

QARI 2            mill-Ittra lil-Lhud 9:24-28

Kristu ma daħalx f’santwarju magħmul b’idejn il-bnedmin li hu biss xbieha tas-santwarju veru, imma daħal fis-sema stess, biex issa jidher għalina quddiem Alla. U daħal hemm mhux biex minn żmien għal żmien joffri lilu nnifsu bħalma l-qassis il-kbir jidħol kull sena fis-santwarju biex joffri demm ħaddieħor. Li kieku kien hekk, kien ikollu jbati ħafna drabi sa mill-ħolqien tad-dinja. Iżda issa deher darba għal dejjem, meta waslet il-milja taż-żminijiet, biex ineħħi d-dnub bis-sagrifiċċju tiegħu nnifsu. U kif hu miktub għall-bnedmin li għandhom imutu darba biss, u wara dan isir il-ġudizzju, hekk ukoll Kristu, wara li offra lilu nnifsu darba biss biex jitgħabba bid-dnubiet tal-kotra, għad jerġa’ jidher darb’oħra, mhux biex ineħħi d-dnubiet, imma biex isalva lil dawk li qegħdin jistennewh bil-ħerqa.
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Gospel             MARK 12:38-44 or 12:41-44

In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honour in synagogues, and places of honour at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation." He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.  For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."

EVANĠELJU            Qari skont San Mark 12:38-44

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù kien qiegħed jgħallem fit-tempju u jgħid: “Iftħu għajnejkom mill-kittieba, li jħobbu jduru mat-toroq bi lbiesi twal, jixtiequ min isellmilhom fil-pjazez, u fis-sinagogi joqogħdu fis-siġġijiet ta’ quddiem, u fil-postijiet ewlenin fil-pranzijiet; iberbqu ġid ir-romol, u mbagħad għal wiċċ in-nies idumu ħafna jitolbu. Dawn jieħdu kundanna aktar iebsa”. Ġesù kien qiegħed biswit it-teżor, iħares u jara xi flus jitfgħu n-nies fit-teżor. Bosta għonja bdew jitfgħu ħafna. Resqet waħda armla fqira u tefgħet biċċtejn żgħar, jiġifieri xi żewġ ċenteżmi. Hu sejjaħ id-dixxipli tiegħu u qalilhom: “Tassew ngħidilkom, li din l-armla fqira tefgħet iktar minn dawk kollha li tefgħu fit-teżor. Għax dawk kollha tefgħu miż-żejjed tagħhom, imma hi, fil-faqar tagħha, tefgħet kulma kellha, dak kollu li kellha biex tgħix”.
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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Eight-minute  Gospel reflection by Fr Antony Kadavil   

SURRENDERING TO GOD


Introduction:

Sunday’s readings invite us to surrender our lives to God with a humble and generous heart by serving others lovingly and sacrificially.

Scripture lessons:

The first reading and the Gospel today present poor widows who sacrificially gave their whole lives and means of livelihood to God, foreshadowing the supreme sacrifice Jesus would offer by giving His life for others. In the first reading, taken from the First Book of Kings, a poor widow who has barely enough food for herself and her son welcomes the prophet Elijah as a man of God, offers all her food to him and receives her reward from God in the form of a continuing daily supply of food. 

In the Gospel, Jesus contrasts the external signs of honour sought by the scribes with the humble, sacrificial offering of a poor widow and declares that she has found true honour in God’s eyes. The poor widows in both the first reading and the Gospel give away all that they possess for the glory of God. The sacrificial self-giving of the widows in the first reading and the Gospel reflects God’s love in giving His only Son for us, and Christ’s love in sacrificing himself on the cross. 

Sunday’s Resposorial Psalm (Ps 146) reminds us that everything that exists belongs to the Lord and that He sustains us all, so that when we return thanks to Him, as the widows did, we please Him. That prepares us for the second reading which tells us how Jesus, as the High Priest of the New Testament, surrendered His life to God His Father totally and unconditionally as a sacrificial offering for our sins – a sacrifice far beyond the sacrifices made by the poor widows.

Life messages:

# 1: We need to appreciate the widows of our parish: Even in seemingly prosperous societies, widows (and widowers), in addition to their deep grief, often suffer from economic loss, from the burden of rearing a family alone, and from a strange isolation from friends, which often sets in soon after protestations of support at their spouses’ funerals. Let us learn to appreciate the widows and widowers of our parish community. Their loneliness draws them closer to God and to stewardship in the parish. 

They are often active participants in all the liturgical celebrations, offering prayers for their families and for their parish family. Frequently, they are active in the parish organizations, as well as in visiting and serving the sick and the shut-ins. Hence, let us appreciate them, support them, encourage them and pray for them.

#2: We need to accept Christ’s criteria of judging people: We often judge people by what they possess. We give weight to their position in society, to their educational qualifications, or to their celebrity status. But Jesus measures us in a totally different way – on the basis of our inner motives and the intentions hidden behind our actions. 

He evaluates us on the basis of the sacrifices we make for others and on the degree of our surrender to His holy will. The offering God wants from us is not our material possessions, but our whole hearts and lives. What is hardest to give is ourselves in love and concern, because that gift costs us more than reaching for our purses.

Let us, like the poor widow, find the courage to share the wealth and talents we hold. Let us stop dribbling out our stores of love, selflessness, sacrifice, and compassion and dare to pour out our whole heart, our whole being, our “whole life” into the Hands and Heart of God and so into the hidden, love-starved coffers of this world.

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